Feb. 7, 2024 -- Even a mild case of COVID-19 can cause people to have trouble sleeping, according to new research.
It was already established that sleep problems were associated with COVID-19 for patients whose illness was bad enough to require hospitalization, CBS News reported. This study aimed to see if people with mild cases are similarly affected.
The research from Vietnam was published in Frontiers in Public Health.
The project involved 1,056 COVID-19 patients who were not hospitalized. They were assessed for insomnia, depression, and anxiety.
Researchers found that 76.1% of them had insomnia – and 22.8% had severe insomnia.
A third of the participants said they had poorer sleep quality, shorter sleep duration, and found it harder to fall asleep. Half reported waking up in the night more after their infection.
Those who had depression or anxiety were more likely to develop insomnia, the study found.
“Other risk factors of insomnia included pre-existing chronic conditions and higher education level, while COVID-19 symptoms and duration were not significantly associated,” the researchers wrote.
“Our study highlights the substantial burden of insomnia among non-hospitalized COVID-19 survivors and the significant association of depression and anxiety on the development of this long-term effect of COVID-19,” they continued.